Letter: Deforestation a Primary Driver of Climate Change

Letter: Deforestation a primary driver of climate change

Letters to the Editor     May 17, 2024 at 2:00 a.m.

The insurance crisis really hit home this week when my Chico home insurance premium doubled. These insurance companies have been requiring home hardening modifications because they are aware of wildfire risk and are minimizing risk. However, our government seems to be moving towards creating more risk of wildfires.

There are groups opposing the $600 million fuel reduction project by the Forest Service in Plumas County. (May 7, E-R). These groups report that these fuel reduction projects are making fire severity worse.

Chad Hanson of the John Muir Project reports that catastrophic wildfires are not fuel driven but they occurred during a prolonged period of heat and drought. They were climate driven. Fuel reduction projects guised as thinning projects decrease the ability of our forests to retain moisture and make fire conditions worse. This deforestation has been shown to be a primary driver of climate change. Insurance companies and many governmental agencies know this.

Our government agencies need to concentrate all funds and efforts on climate-hardened communities. Metal roofing, defensible space, evacuation routes and well-funded fire departments are all needed. Many government agencies and our insurance companies actually agree that the most important thing we can do in the face of a rapidly changing climate and chaotic insurance market is to harden our infrastructure. We need our forests for the carbon that they absorb and we need to be able to afford home insurance.

— Jean Marquardt, Chico